Mortyr is probably best described as a 3D upgrade of Wolfenstein 3D, perhaps more so than we'd like to see. It's a First Person Shooter that focuses on thwarting the Nazis and their plans of world domination. Muhahaha. Muhahahaha. Muhahaha. Ahhh. Hmmm.

The year is 2093, in an alternate future that has been shaped by the Nazis' winning World War II through the use of a super weapon. Luckily, a scientist has come to discover this super weapon and dispatches his son Sebastian Mortyr, played by you, to the past in order to disrupt the Nazi plans and change the future and oh no I've gone cross-eyed! Worry not though, that's about as immersed in the story as you'll get. Besides an introductory movie, which isn't particular well done, there are absolutely no cutscenes in the game to advance the story, nor are there any interactions with NPCs. Instead, Sebastian will find books and journals with entries that help progress the storyline. Interestingly enough, these books are constantly found floating in the air above tables and what not, because who among us doesn't have Grand 'n Toys exciting 'hover books' to write in? Can I get a show of hands?

Ok, so it's been established that Mortyr is simply a run 'n gun type FPS. You begin Mortyr by breaking into a large Nazi castle, working your way through sewers, sub pens, cemeteries, railroads, crypts and other World War II and futuristic environments. Each environment is further broken down into smaller 'areas' (much like Half-Life), which helps tremendously in terms of load time. The bad news is as you advance through each sub-level, you'll find that many of these areas are far too similar to the previous ones. There's very little variety in some of the sub-levels of particular environments and even less freedom when it comes to the direction of the level. What results is a retro-style mad dash through each level with relatively simple objectives: Kill Nazis, Find Key, Open Door, Rinse, Repeat. So, if you like that kind of repetitive gameplay we've seen so many times in previous FPS, you'll probably enjoy wandering through the world that is Mortyr. If you're looking for a little more substance, Mortyr probably won't fill your needs.

Mortyr does feature a nice assortment of weaponry for use against the nasty Nazis. Among them are a 9mm Parabellum and a MP-40 Schmeisser machine pistol. Since Mortyr not only takes place in the past, but also the future, there are a plethora of futuristic weapons as well. The Gehenna, which fires exploding bullets, and the plasma launcher are just a couple of those fancy guns. In all, the weaponry is well balanced and making use of particular weapons at different ranges is very important for success.

Graphically, Mirage has put together one hell of a 3D engine here. Beautifully detailed textures, radiant colours, coloured lighting, particle effects (particularly the shattering glass effect), and reflective surfaces are just a few of the features of this incredibly fast engine. I found myself in awe wandering around some of these rich World War II environments. They were repetitive backgrounds at times, but they were damn great to look at. They've also implemented a great zoom feature that is incredibly smooth considering some of the other attempts made in FPS. Unfortunately, the Audio components don't quite match the level set by the graphics. Voice effects seem poorly recorded, particular that of Sebastian Mortyr. I know the developers are Polish, but they could have hired somebody to voice the English dialogue. In terms of sound effects, they seem too dominant at times, if not unrealistic. Water effects in particular are poorly done. I wondered, at times, why I began to hear certain sound effects when I did. In terms of weapon effects, they were all fairly standard, if not very well done. When Nazi soldiers hear weapon fire, or even your footsteps, they'll come wailing and charging like a bull, even if it's not a wise choice to begin with.

The enemy AI in Mortyr is far from intelligent. Nazi soldiers constantly run around, sometimes in circles, screaming and firing at anything in sight. They come in droves and depending which difficulty setting you prefer, you'll either find the game too easy, or far too difficult. They might not be bright Nazis, but when enough of them come running at you, at one time, accuracy isn't an issue anymore. The only saving grace, at times, is the fact that the Nazis seem to leave an overabundance of armour and health around. I guess they don't like the idea of having a maid come and clean up the place once in awhile.

And what is with the constant onslaught of documentation in the upper left corner whenever you gain life, pick up ammunition, or do anything else for that matter? When I pick up a few rounds for my machine gun, I don't need to be reminded of it. That should be taken out of the interface altogether, it only belongs there in multiplayer games. Speaking of multiplayer, Mortyr also sports that feature as well. Nothing earth shattering in this department though, since only a few game selections are available. There's a cooperative mode allowing you to kill all the Nazis with a friend, and there's also straight deathmatch and CTF games available. There are only a handful of maps for deathmatch however, and the CTF is far from stellar. The Mortyr multiplayer certainly isn't going to cut into your Q3A or Unreal Tournament playing time, that's for sure.

And finally, before I conclude, I should touch on the settings. In terms of graphics and sound, Mirage has made sure everything is adjustable, so no matter whether you have a super computer or a simple machine, everybody will get this puppy running. In terms of control, be sure to change the keys before you begin playing. The pre-set configuration is far from the standard set most FPS gamers use.

So why weren't publishers knocking on Mirage's door to publish Mortyr quicker? Perhaps it was the gameplay that turned them off. Mirage has done a superb job creating a 3D engine unlike many others, and I hope they'll put it to good use on future products, but it's clear that most of the development time was spent on that superb engine, and not the gameplay. The old 'Kill Enemies, Find Key, Open Door' formula is passé and the AI is far from intelligent. The end result is what is commonly referred too as a mindless game. If you have the ability to check your brain at the door and just enjoy the carnage, you'll probably like playing Mortyr. If you prefer a little more substance, there are better FPS' on the market.